When I first heard Hawaii Five-O was getting the remake treatment I wasn’t that interested. I only vaguely remembered the original series and it was one step closer to rebooting Magnum P.I. (how sacrilegious would will that be?) in my opinion. However, I’ve begun to shift in the other direction regarding this series as more casting news comes out.

The most recent addition is James Marsters. Probably best known as Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Marsters also played Brianic on Smallville and Barnabas on Caprica.  As exciting as it may be to have him on the new Hawaii Five-O it doesn’t sound like he’ll have a continuing role, at least not yet. Marsters will be in the pilot and appear, “as the nemesis of lead character Jack McGarrett.”

At this point it seems producers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Transformers, Fringe) are trying to capture the geek community for the new show.  Marsters joins a cast that encapsulates geek programming; Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), Jean Smart (24), and Alex O’Loughlin (Moonlight) are already on deck.  With Scott Caan on board as well suddenly Hawaii Five-O is a show I can start to get behind.

Former Battlestar Galactica cast members keep getting more work, especially the really great looking ones (who also have some acting talent). Katee Sackhoff is currently on 24 and made a lasting impression during an appearance on The Big Bang Theory. Tricia Helfer has made appearances on Burn Notice, Human Target and will be a regular on the new TNT series Dark Blue.

And now, according to the Hollywood Reporter, her cylon pal Grace Park has picked up a new TV role as well. Park will join the reboot of CBS’ Hawaii Five-O and play Kona Kalakaua, the niece of squad member Chin Ho Kelly, which will be played by Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim.

She’s a beautiful and smart champion surfer who is about to graduate from the police academy when McGarrett recruits her to join his team. Of course, as we already told you, McGarrett will be played in the reboot by Moonlight’s Alex O’Laughlin. Plus, super writer/producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are in charge of the show.

However, with Park now involved, I’ve got a real reason to watch this show. And no, not just for the eye candy. . . although that doesn’t hurt.

We have to admit, nobody at The Flickcast offices were really happy when news broke that CBS would be remaking Hawaii Five-0. Then we heard some of the names that are coming along with it.

Not only are Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the hottest sci-fi writing team working today, helping create the new series, but LOST star Daniel Dae-Kim is also attached as Detective Chin Ho Kelly, and now Moonlight’s Alex O’Loughlin is set to take the lead.

The idea for a reboot of the long running cop drama has been bounced around the halls of CBS for nearly two years. The studio originally got excited for the idea back in 2008, but dropped it for lack of interest in the pilot script.

Then, back in October, they were approached by Kurtzman, Orci, and CSI: NY showrunner Peter Lenkov, and loved the idea. O’Loughlin won over a huge fan base after his work on the short-lived Moonlight, and then continued on a few other series.

The actor is currently attached to the lead role of Detective Steve McGarrett, first made famous by Jack Lord.

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According to Variety, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the prolific writer-producers involved with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek and Fox’s series Fringe, have signed an exclusive three-year deal with 20th Century Fox TV. As part of the deal, which officially starts March 1, the duo will bring in show ideas, recruit writers to work with them and also create their own projects, either by themselves or with others.

According to the article, 20th Century Fox TV chairman Dana Walden couldn’t be happier with the deal. “We’ve been pursuing this deal for quite some time,” said Walden. “They would elevate any type of development. But they were very thoughtful about the kind of commitment they were making. They didn’t want to overpromise.”

As for the writer/producers themselves, they are equally as excited. “We’ve been excited about going back into TV, but wanted to wait until the feature side of our company was on its feet,” Kurtzman said.

“One of the things that drew us back to TV was the idea that we could do the kind of stories that we’re not known for in features,” said Orci. “From sci-fi to procedurals to medical genres, those are all the kind of shows that we love.”

For TV, the prolific pair are already overseeing CBS’ reboot of Hawaii Five-O, which recently got a pilot order. They are also producing a new animated version of Transformers for the Hub, the new Discovery/Hasbro joint venture that is set to replace Discovery Kids later this year. Even though they are still involved with Transformers, let’s hope their TV projects during this new deal are more like Fringe and less like Transformers.

It was recently announced that “hot megastar” Robert Downey Jr. was turning down the role in Iron Man helmer Jon Favreau’s next feature, Cowboys and Aliens. Well, now comes word from Deadline Hollywood that James Bond himself may be stepping up to do battle against the beings from another world.

Daniel Craig is currently in talks to sign on for the lead role of Zeke Jackson in the movie based on the Fred Van Lente graphic novel. The original story is about “feuding frontier settlers and Native Americans in the Old West who team up to fight extraterrestrials.”

The Script comes from Star Trek and Transformers scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, as well as a screenwriting credit to Lost’s Damon Lindelof, and the film has got Dreamworks and Imagine Entertainment powerhouses Steven Spielberg, Brian Grazer, and Ron Howard producing. This could very well turn out to be a mega hit like the small-scale District 9, or a bloated and missed opportunity like 1999’s Wild Wild West (or Transformers 2, whichever flop you want to go with).

No word on when the film is set to start shooting, but the studio is looking at a release date in mid 2011. What are your thoughts on Craig taking over for RDJ?

As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, someone (or someones) actually sits down and writes a movie or TV show before you end up seeing it at your local multiplex or on your favorite TV network. The people who do the sitting and the writing are, surprisingly, called writers and, like the Directors, the Golden Globes and the Oscars, they have their own awards show.

This week, the Writers Guild of America, which is the trade group and advocate for writers, announced its nominations for outstanding achievement in feature film and television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2009 season to be honored at the upcoming 2010 Writers Guild Awards on February 20, 2010, in Los Angeles and New York.

We realize that these nominations may not be as glamorous as the Golden Globes or the Oscars, but we kinda like writers around here and think they do a pretty important job. So, with that in mind, here’s a complete list of nominees.

Check out these names, these people are pretty important. Without them you wouldn’t get to enjoy your favorite TV show, movie or pretty much any other form of entertainment. The 2010 Writers Guild Awards will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2010, simultaneously at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

FILM NOMINEES

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

Avatar, Written by James Cameron

The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal

A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper

Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb

Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry

Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon TurnerBased upon the novel by Walter Kirn

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Welcome to The Pull List Comic Reviews! It was a great week for comics as every issue got a really good score, including a surprising (for me, anyway) Pull of the Week. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Sugarshock – Dark Horse Comics – $3.50 US
Writer: Joss Whedon Artist: Fábio Moon
Score: 9.5

Being the lead singer and guitarist of a band can require quite the juggling act, but what if one of those tasks involved saving the Earth? Luckily for us Earthlings, Dandelion has it all under control… somewhat. You see, her band, Sugarshock, has been requested in a battle of the bands, except there are no bands, and they’ll be battling to the death with the planet’s future on the line. Will they save the day or fall between the cracks into obscurity, or worse?

This isn’t your ordinary band, however. The drummer goes by Wade, who also happens to be an alien princess who looks human and can’t say “no” to groupies. Her “mystically enhanced bodyguard,” L’lihdra, doubles as the band’s other guitarist and the bassist is Robot Phil, which pretty much says it all. If there ever was a more rag-tag team of misfits, I’ve yet to see it.

I don’t know where to even begin with this issue. Originally appearing on MySpace’s Dark Horse Presents anthology in 2007, the three-part story is collected here along with Fábio Moon’s sketchbook and Editor Scott Allie’s notations, making for a nice, complete package. In other words, this is as close to perfect as I’ve seen since I started writing the Pull List Comic Reviews. Joss Whedon, who has always had a firm grip on female leads, inflects his usual witty banter but ups it to a whole new level. His characters are, in some cases, out of this world, and you can’t help but fall in love with every single one of them.

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Let me start by asking doesn’t “Star Trek Trio” sound like a really geeky jazz band? Someone that is musically inclined should totally make that happen. Vegas show, perhaps?

That said, three of the big names behind the Star Trek reboot, J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman, spoke independently regarding what is to come for the franchise. Being a writer, let me start with my favorite scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. ComingSoon caught up with the pair and discussed what was on deck for the sequel. Kurtzman explained how they looked to some of the best sequels when working on their own:

“I think that for us it’s always about going back to the sequels that we loved as kids and asking ourselves why we loved them. “Empire Strikes Back,” “Superman 2,” “Aliens,” “Terminator 2,” “Star Trek 2,” what do all of those movies have in common? Well, they are amazing stories all on their own. You didn’t have to see the first movie.

There was some incredibly emotional test of character in all of those movies. Superman has to give up his powers for love. The Spock and Kirk relationship is being tested by Kahn. Ripley finding a daughter, essentially. All of those things are such big ideas in and of themselves.”

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I’m not sure if this news should be taken as good or bad, but it seems writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are officially off Transformers 3.  The dynamic duo of writing are probably two of the biggest names in Hollywood scribe circles these days having penned the fist two Transformers movies and this past Summer’s Star Trek reboot.

When asked why they are leaving Orci stated: “The main reason we would move on is because we risk getting stale and comfortable. If you only sing one song for too long, you miss the opportunity to sing news songs. We’ll see.”

With the pairs departure all the writing duties at this point fall to Ehren Kruger along with whatever Michael Bay wants to contribute (more explosions!).  This may not be such a good thing as Kruger is attributed for adding a lot of the comedy to the scripts which I felt did a disservice to the overall tone and pace of the story.

Getting back to my good/bad comment above,  I think it’s both.  It’s bad in the sense if there was anything positive about either movie (of which there was little as far as I can tell) it probably came from these two writers.  It’s bad because without Kurtzman and Orci the third Transformers film can only go downhill from here.  Not that it has far to go to hit rock bottom.

On the flip side, this will certainly free up the pair’s time to work on the sequel to Star Trek and continue producing their hit show Fringe. Even in Kurtzman and Orci’s absence I’m certain the next Transformers installment will go onto make a load of cash which makes it even more surprising the two would make an exit.  That said, I have to respect them for turning down a huge payday in favor of their craft.  My hat is off to you both.

Transformers 3 hits theaters July 1, 2011.

This is not breaking news exactly, and had been rumored for some time, but I just can’t let it go without comment. For me, the revelation and subsequent confirmation that Bryan Singer, director of such films as X-Men, The Usual Suspects and Superman Returns, is now attached to direct a Battlestar Galactica movie for Universal comes directly from the ‘WTF?’ department.

Just in case you don’t know what’s happening, yesterday, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Singer signed on the line that is dotted and will direct and produce a “re-imagining” of the classic series created by Glen Larson. I’m just curious what makes him think the best use of his time is to direct a completely new Battlestar Galactica movie?

Before I go on, let me just say that I was a fan of Glen Larson and Universal’s answer to Star Wars when it first hit the air. Heck, I even gave them another chance after the first BSG series was canceled and watched Galactica 1980. That’s how far I go back. Sure, the shows were cheesy and campy, but as a kid I didn’t really care. But now, they seem extremely dated and lightweight  — especially when compared to the updated SyFy series.

I’m also a fan of Singer and many of his films — The Usual Suspects and X2 in particular. His work shows a great deal of maturity and polish and he usually knows how to tell a story — especially one that’s written by the very talented Christopher McQuarrie. However, I was also looking far more forward to Singer taking on an updated version of Logan’s Run or even getting back in the chair for another go at X-Men or a Wolverine sequel than to him doing a BSG movie.

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